Nightmares in Glast Heim
by Ecliptic Rain
Summary: A young acolyte is exiled from Prontera, but can she and her guild of rebel priests survive the place they call home, the abandoned city of Glast Heim? ((Revised version))
1. Prologue

Kiro stared blankly at the bunk above her, worrying. She glanced around the room to see that only she was awake. They were safe, at least for now. She wondered for how long. There were some well placed talismans plastered around the room as a precaution, but Kirono still worried. She had a reason to. Lately, it seemed as though the charms were ineffective. Either the monsters were becoming immune, or her powers were waning. Either way, it was a bad sign. Just the night before, a mandragora had found its way in and nearly strangled Shinjii in his sleep. She took a deep breath and sighed.

_If I lost him, then what would I do?_

She reached under her pillow and pulled out a picture. It was dark, and thus she squinted, trying her best to see. It had probably been a year since she last saw them. Aian was most likely a high ranking knight by now, and Kiro was almost certain that Aqua was struggling as a mage, even with Casper there to help her. After all, he never was good at teaching, and Aqua was quite hard headed at times. Add Cutie to that mix and you have a very lethal combination, even if they always disagree. It almost made her wonder if it was a normal Geffenese trait, or if it was just those three. Her gaze wandered to Dual, their resident shadow. The thief had always been a good friend to her, and had never once let them down.

_We were so young then...so naïve and trusting..._

She knew those days were over. Her fate had taken away her innocence, and most of her youth, and had also taken away her friends. She had abandoned them. The only one she had left was Shinjii. It always struck her as strange that he refused to leave her side, but she was grateful nonetheless.

After a yawn, she turned her head to the side. Even in the pitch black obscurity of the night, she could still make out his sleeping form, sprawled out on the nearby bunk. Fate was rather kind to him in comparison, and time had not changed him much. He still had a youthful, energetic aura about him, unlike Kiro. Time and events had changed her. In only one year, she had matured well beyond her years. Countless deaths had nearly turned her bitter, but Shinjii had kept her from falling apart.

She looked at the picture again, and noticed that there was one unfamiliar face. There, in the middle of the group, was a friendly, young acolyte, smiling like the sun. Was that really her? Had she really changed that much?

She replaced the photograph under her pillow and lay her head down. She needed rest. Tomorrow was another day, if not to live for herself, then for Shinjii and the rest of the Forgotten Angels. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter One

Morning. The sun was up, the birds were singing, beauty was all around. In fact, some might say that it was one of the most beautiful mornings anyone had ever had the good fortune of witnessing. But in the church found deep within the city of Glast Heim, sunlight and songbird melodies were but myths. Little to no light ever penetrated the gloomy interior.

Kirono Winterheart awoke to the sound of a familiar, and rather annoying, voice calling her name.

"Hey sis, wake up, it's morning already..."

It always came as a surprise to her that her brother's voice always echoed with laughter. Spending a year in this hellish lair had not robbed him of his optimism and cheerfulness, unlike Kiro, who now seemed much older than a girl who had seen sixteen springtimes should. Perhaps this was the reason that Shinjii always referred to her as his older sister, when in fact he was the elder one, even if only by a month.

Though Kiro was still a child in a sense, death had nearly become as regular in her life as breathing. She had lost so many of her friends. She cursed this retched exile which was brought upon her by a crime that she had not perpetrated, and now others were suffering just to prove her innocence. Those newly inducted acolytes should not have been dragged into this chaos. After all, some of the stronger priests had met an early grave, and now the Forgotten Angels were becoming few.

Fate was cruel. Kiro was still grieving the loss of Seraphine when Gabriel had been taken away from them as well. Meredith soon followed. Of the original twenty or so priests and acolytes that formed the Forgotten Angels, only five remained. There were new recruits of course, but they couldn't replace those who had fallen. To make matters worse, all five were in bad shape. Cherry was ill, Bethany had suffered a breakdown, Michael had become withdrawn and laconic, and Cyrus was on the verge of becoming psychotic.

Kiro knew good and well that leadership was a big responsibility, especially since she was one or the least skilled of all the acolytes. The other four were already quite powerful, and had seen more years than Kiro, yet they still looked to the younger girl for wisdom and guidance.

She sighed and enclosed her locket within her hand. It felt cold against her palm. Ten years had passed since her beloved guardian Silver had given it to her, and she never once let it be removed from her neck.

"Sis! Come on! Time's a-wasting! Master Schale won't wait for you forever you know."

Once again, Shinjii's voice did quite an excellent job of shattering her chain of thoughts. After fixing her clothes and locating her prayer beads, she stood up and followed the impatient swordsman down the narrow, dank corridors of the sinister place that they called home.

Another day of training. She dreaded this task, and would avoid it if she could, but unless she did her best and strived hard, she would be stuck as an incompetent leader for as long as the Forgotten Angels were in existence. But everyday, she put on a mask similar to that of a smile and exhausted all of her energy and effort in her training.

She would never become a priestess, but it was worth all of the pressure, for soon she would be a shaman. Soon she would be strong enough to protect her friends, soon she would be worthy of being the leader of the Angels, soon. But for now, she must train. With all her practicing, she had almost suffered an emotional and physical breakdown, but that didn't matter. When she had completed her training, she could keep her guildsmen safe.


	3. Chapter Two

"Good morning, Winterheart. You're late again, as usual."

Schale eyed his young apprentice. He sensed the fatigue exuded by her fragile form.

"Haven't I told you to get plenty of rest, young lady? You'll never become a shaman if you can't even handle the pressures of your training."

"I'm sorry Master, but I had to make certain that I had properly placed all of the protection talismans."

"Very well then, now that you're here, shall we begin?"

Just as the acolyte was about to nod, a blonde assassin burst through the door, the floppy rabbit ears of his rather strange choice of a headgear drooping over his face. As he slouched against a nearby pillar, his companion, a rambunctious black-haired rogue, slammed the door just in time to avoid the wraith that had been pursuing them. A somewhat loud thump sound was heard as the result of the poor, helpless undead monster crashing into the large door.

"That...was close..."

"Nice...understatement..."

"Kaname! Tanaka!"

The two froze at the sound of the grouchy old ex-hunter's voice. They didn't even have time to catch their breath and already they were being lectured.

"I thought I told you two to stay out of here while I am training Miss Winterheart!"

"But Master Schale! This was the closest escape..."

"Then you shouldn't have been wandering around like the nosy brats that you are."

The slender rogue took this opportunity to smack the unwary assassin upside the head, nearly knocking off his second pair of ears.

"Darn it Kuro, this is all your fault!"

"And I suppose that you had no part in this, Miss Kaname?"

The rogue responded by looking at her feet and saying nothing, not wanting to anger him further.

"Just as I thought. Now I suggest you two head back to the church and help Father Cyrus with whatever errands he may have. And as for you, Tanaka..."

His gaze wandered to the assassin, who was still rubbing the spot where the rogue had struck him.

"Go with her, and stay out of trouble. And while you're at it, lose that God-awful excuse for a headband that you insist on wearing all the time. You're not a hare, nor are you some pole-dancing floozy from some obscure strip club. Now get going!"

"But I promised Weili that I'd never take this off..."

"Just go!"

As soon as the two former thieves exited the vicinity as if chased away by a rabid Chihuahua, the hunter turned to the acolyte and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"And you, you should get some rest."

"But Master..."

"No. Kiro, it won't help to torture yourself like this. You need to take a break once in a while."

The emerald-eyed girl nodded and smiled weakly, then switched her attention to a certain swordsman, who now happened to be dozing off as if he were napping under the Pronteran sun. Something about his vulnerable aura tugged at the corner of her lips, and she couldn't hold off the smile that came through. She knelt beside him and gently shook him one, let's go back to the church."


	4. Chapter Three

"Sis...let's go"

Kiro had no idea why Shinjii was tugging on her sleeve, and nor did she really care. She simply waved him away and continued to sweep up the remains of a ghoul who made the mistake of attacking her. Yet the boy was persistent.

"Come on Kiro, I'm bored...let's..."

"No Shinjii! I'm not in the mood for anything. First, Kuro and Lilith interrupt my training session, thus wrecking my morning, and now you're annoying me to the point where I feel like I'll snap and whack you with my swordmace."

"But sis...can't we at least go to Geffen or Izlude? It'll help you relax..."

"Look, all I want to do to relax is to finish cleaning up, go and put some zombies out of their misery, make some protection talismans and then go to sleep. So unless Cyrus or Bethany send me out to get some blue gemstones or whatnot, I have no intention of leaving this place for now."

Perhaps it was either bad luck or bad timing that Cyrus happened to pass by and overhear their conversation. Either way, it happened.

"Kiro, that's a nice suggestion. We are running low on supplies, but I wasn't thinking of sending anyone out. Thanks for volunteering!"

There was not much that Kiro could do other than mumble about her misfortune while her brother jumped in glee.

* * *

"I was right, wasn't I?"

The two youths walked through the streets of Geffen, the acolyte with her head down and the swordsman poking her arm.

"Just say it...I was right about getting out of that hell hole for a day, wasn't I?"

Kiro simply sighed and smiled at the young swordsman.

"Okay, Shinjiii, you were right."

"So what do we do now?"

"I just need to get some potions and we're good to go." 

Just as they were about to go find what they needed, the day just had to get worse as a girl with raven colored hair bumped into the acolyte, knocking her coin pouch to the ground. This event caused all of her money to spill out.

"Watch it!" the girl yelled as she walked off.

"I swear, Geffenese pedestrians are so damn careless!"

"Come on sis...let's get the potions and go home."

Kiro glared in the general direction of the girl who had bumped her. If not for Shinjii, she might have had half a mind to whip out her mace and get medieval on the girl's arse.

"Kiro! Let's go!"

The acolyte simply shook her head and pushed her bangs out of her face. Afterwards, she went to retrieve her scattered zeny, which by some stroke of luck, were still on the ground and not in the pocket of some random passerby.

"Let it slide Kiro...at lest we still have our stuff."

"I guess you're on..."

The siblings wandered around, searching for potions, as well as a few miscellaneous items that they needed. Kiro began to think that perhaps that girl's rudeness was a blessing in disguise, for as they were leaving, they were able to see some accidental entertainment as a young mage boy practiced his fire wall by igniting his companion's cloak. Right on the back. Shinjii could barely contain his laughter as the comical scene ensued, with the torch mage screaming like an idiot as his friend attempted to kill the flames with an icy Frost Driver blast, which then froze the poor boy.

Kiro smiled at the scene, which evoked a memory of the time when aqua had done almost the exact same thing to Casper. Tears began welling up in her emerald orbs at the realization that she may never see them again, but the sound of roaring laughter and the weight of someone leaning against her woke her from her spell.

Shinjii was too busy laughing his head off to notice that Kiro had gone all silent on him. She saw the reason when she looked over at the two mage boys. In anger, the boy whose cloak was torched was now attempting to pin his friend with cold bolts. However, it became apparent that ice was not his forte, as the summoned pieces of frozen water rained on him instead, forcing him to dance.

Now was the first time that Kiro noticed a redheaded wizard leaning against a nearby tree, looking as if his sides may split from viewing the comical scene before them.

Feeling a strange, faint warmth creeping up on her cheeks, the acolyte turned away and pulled out one of her blue gemstones.

"Come on Shinjii, let's go home."

* * *

"Here. I swiped this from some acolyte chick in Geffen."

The girl who had bumped into Kirono tossed the bag of gems to her priest companion. She stayed in the shadows, with only the light reflecting off of her blue eyes to give away her position.

"How many times do I have to tell you, never steal from clerics, especially from Kiro."

"What?! That was Kiro??"

"Lilith, you nitwit!"

Cyrus tossed the bag of blue gemstones back to the rogue before walking away.

"Return those to Kiro. And next time, try not to mug our leader, you lousy excuse for a thief."

((NOTE: edited because the otehr version i uploaded didn't have the lines. i put hyphens to seperate the scnece changes, but they got nuked D: ))


	5. Chapter Four

"You're not kidding anymore, are you?"

Kuro shook his head, a serious look on his usually carefree face. He was confering with another assassin, and that usually meant business. Kiro, however, was not too keen on one of her best friends conversing with another murderer.

"Kuro, what is he doing here?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. Kiro, this is Akira, a friend of mine. Akira, meet Kirono, our leader."

"Akira Hellscream. It's nice to meet you, Miss Kirono."

"Yeah, yeah...whatever...Kuro, What _is_ he doing here?"

Akira felt about ready to lash out at this girl. Randomly attacking people wasn't exactly his style, unless that someone really ticked him off. This particular acolyte had succeeded, but he remembered that he and Kuro still had a mission to discuss. Calming himself down, he glanced at Kiro, then at the bunny eared boy.

"Is she always like this?"

"Only to assassins. Not sure why though."

"Kuro, I'm waiting."

"Alright, alright. Akira told me about this legend...more of a prophecy actually. I have a feeling it may have something to do with the Forgotten Angels."

Kiro rolled her eyes and scoffed. If it had come from a priest or a sage, she might have been more open-minded. Even bards and wizards were more credible in her eyes. But coming from an assassin, even Kuro, any legend was just that – a legend. She was a strong believer that the only fate that befell anyone was the one they made for themselves.

"Look, miss, I'm not asking you to believe me, but legends like this one should never be ignored."

For a few moments, Kirono and Akira appeared to be having some sort of staring contest, both trying their best to intimidate the other.

"Whatever."

The girl turned around and stalked off, rather annoyed that she had to deal with yet another one of those fiends who called themselves assassins.

"Aw, put a sock in it, you little disaster."

Kiro turned her attention to the yelling that seemed to originate from somewhere down the corridor. She became intrigued by the constant name-calling of two feminine voices, one familiar and one that she had never heard before.

"Well, at least I have to common sense to avoid snatching from someone I know."

"But you're not above roasting them?"

"That didn't count. He wasn't my superior, you obnoxious rogue!"

"No, he isn't, but I am, you feeble minded mage!"

The acolyte chuckled and crept closer to the arguing duo, one of which she determined to be Lilith. As she peered around the corner, she noticed that the other feminine voice she heard actually belonged to a boy. She couldn't see him well, but she could tell from the hem of his cloak that he was a mage.

"Oh can it, fungus breath."

"Stuff you, Midgard Flatlands!"

"Hello? Have you looked at me lately, old coot? Last time I checked, guys didn't need humped chests hiding under their cloaks."

Kiro couldn't hold it anymore. This insult war was getting hilarious, and if she didn't stop them, she was likely to wake a swarm of undead with her laughter.

"Lilith? What's going on?"

The rogue, who had her back to the entrance, pivoted around slowly at the sound of Kiro's voice, then quickly looked down, her face stained with embarrassment.

"Hi Kiro...what are you doing here?"

"I was talking to Kuro, but I heard you two...by the way, who's your friend?"

Lilith grabbed the mage by the shoulders and held him in front of her like a shield. It was then that Kiro recognized him.

"You're that fire mage from earlier!"

"Fire mage? This runt? That sounds like an oxymoron."

"She's right...I couldn't cast a fire spell to save my life."

"But you can to cook your peers."

The mage scratched the back of his head and gave out a soft laugh tinged with awkwardness.

"That...was an accident..."

Kiro smiled at the mage, then turned to the rogue behind him.

"Well? Are you going to introduce us or not?"

Lilith looked about ready to slap her own forehead. She released the mage and nudged him forward.

"Kiro, I'd like you to meet Felice, my bratty cousin. Lis, this is Kiro."

"Felice? I'm sue you hear this often, but isn't that a strange name for a boy?"

Lilith burst out laughing, then whispered something into the mage's ear. He looked at her as though he would punch her, pushed her away, and grinned at the acolyte.

"Maybe that's because I'm actually a girl."

Kiro blinked at the mage, dumbfounded. Here in front of her was an actual cross dresser, a magician, no less. And not just your run-of-the-mill cross dresser, this was one who really passed herself off successfully as the opposite gender.

"Felice, now might be a good time to tell Kiro why you came here...other than to annoy me, that is."

"Right. Well, I've been spending a lot of time in the library in the back of the Mage academy, and in my research of fire and ice fusion, I came across a misplaced book.

"I took it to my mentor, who identified the strange writing as runes used by the prophets of ancient Glast Heim. Unfortunately, the only phrases he could decipher were 'Angel of Blades' and 'darkness upon the holy ones.'"

"So...why did you have to tell me?"

"Well, Lilith told me that your guild calls themselves the forgotten angels, and the other parts that we managed to translate said something about a guild in the city of darkness, which can only be Glast Heim"

"Wait, hold on...I thought you said you could only decipher two phrases."

Felice tapped her elbow and thought about it. The acolyte was inclined to believe what the mage said, but inconsistencies would demerit her credibility. She watched as the jade haired girl shook her head and turned to walk away. Suddenly, as if someone had thrown a blunt object at her head, the mage remembered what her beloved mentor had said when she questioned the very same anomaly.

"Oh...that's right...three pages were already translated!"

Both the acolyte and the rogue wanted to fall down from pure shock at the mage's senility.

"Whatever. Look, I have stuff to do, so if you don't mind, I have to leave now."

"Alright, Kiro. It was nice to meet you. And for the record, Felice is a boy's name."


End file.
